here we go again

BY Raechel Myers

Let’s do a #SheSharesTruth tomorrow, what do you say? Details at the bottom of this post!

Text: Nehemiah 13:1-31

Sometimes real life can be a lot like church camp. God shows us our sin and a new passion is lit within us. All sweaty and sunburned, we commit and recommit our lives to obedience and Christian music every twelve months or so.

Of course, it doesn’t take long before our church camp high wears off. We aren’t going to chapel twice a day, the songs we sing at church aren’t nearly as hip, we aren’t eating lunch across the table from our youth pastor and, doggone it, our parents just don’t understand.

It’s a little humorous when we think of the Israelites as middle school campers, but it’s a lot less pretty when we think of their pattern of disobedience as belonging to church members, leaders, and spouses.

God has just done an awesome thing for them – He has rebuilt their wall and restored their gates. Not only that, the Israelites have also been restored spiritually. They’re a city again, brought back from exile and thriving in every way. Honestly, I think many of them wondered if they’d ever see this day again. And so, they re-covenanted with God (10:37-39). And this time, they reallydomeanit.

Only, Nehemiah goes back to Babylon to serve the king. All their confessing and campfire songs have become a clouded memory. And Israel is forgetting their covenant – forgetting their God – again.

Why do you think Nehemiah ends the way it does – with failure and backsliding, with corruption and disobedience? What does God want us to see here about Himself and the Church?

I would love to give you a tidy list of bullet points here with all the reasons why I think so. But instead, I see this as an awesome opportunity to share as a community. What is God telling us here? Why did He sovereignly inspire the book of Nehemiah in this way?

Take some time to think on the things we’ve read and studied together over the past two weeks, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the heart of the Father in this final chapter of Nehemiah. Then jot down what you see and hear in your journal or in the comments, or gather here tomorrow for the #SheSharesTruth linkup (details below). Let’s learn from one another!

#SheSharesTruth assignment for Friday, May 30th—

Join us tomorrow as we link up our thoughts on these questions:
Why does the book of Nehemiah end the way it does? What does God want us to see here about Himself and the Church? 

Hint: there is no easy answer to this question, but we do know that these final verses of Nehemiah are not accidental. God inspired the text—His Word—this way. Let’s open our hearts to what the Holy Spirit is teaching us and then share our thoughts with one another here tomorrow. We can’t wait to hear what you have to say!

New to #SheSharesTruth? Here’s what you need to know—

As writers, we’ve found that one of the best ways for us to learn is to communicate what we’re learning back to someone else. #SheSharesTruth is an opportunity for you in the SheReadsTruth community to do the same! Simply study the assigned scripture passage and questions, write a blog post/journal entry/scrap piece of paper of your thoughts, and share it with us tomorrow! (And don’t worry if you don’t know what “link up” means—it’s super easy, and we’ll have instructions in tomorrow’s post.)

With the Holy Spirit at the helm, let’s teach and learn from each other. See you tomorrow!